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Dioxin study findings explained at meeting

Published 6:32 am, Monday, April 18, 2011

One of the lead researchers in the University of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study explained the study's key finding at a Midland Area Chamber of Commerce event.

David Garabrant said living in the Midland and Saginaw area before 1980 is associated with having higher levels of a dioxin known as TCDD in your blood than a control group in Jackson and Calhoun counties, but living in this region since 1980 has no effect on dioxin levels in blood.

The information he presented was included in a report released in January. He said once researchers controlled for having lived in the region prior to 1980, other things, such as increased dioxin levels in soil or dust, did not have an effect on dioxin levels in people's blood.

Garabrant hopes the study will be used by the state and federal governments as they consider what to do about the contamination.

That is not likely, as the EPA has raised concerns about the relevancy of the study since it did not include children and only included 23 properties considered highly contaminated when using a weighted toxic equivalency calculation called the TEQ.

At the time blood was collected in 2005, testing was not possible on children, Garabrant said. He said when you look at specific dioxins and dioxin-like compounds that are found at high levels in the local region, rather than the TEQ level, there are actually hundreds of properties that have what are considered high levels of contamination.

Indirect exposure from eating animals raised on contaminated soil could increase blood levels, Garabrant said. He said people should follow state fish consumption advisories, not eat livestock or animal products raised on contaminated property, wash fruits and vegetables to remove dirt and not shift river sediments for gardens or other purposes unless the area is known to be uncontaminated.

The study was funded through an unrestricted grant from The Dow Chemical Co., which is responsible for dioxin contamination near its site in Midland and in the Tittabawassee River.

Mike Krecek, director of the Midland County Department of Public Health, said he's been following the study closely. Krecek said he hopes the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the EPA will carefully consider its relevance to their work in restoring the waterway.

"I think the results speak for themselves," he said.

Dioxin has been a long-discussed topic in the area, with environmental groups voicing concerns over possible health affects and many in the business community hoping the situation will be resolved so the community can move on.

Last month the region was featured in a report on disease clusters by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the National Disease Clusters Alliance. It said a 2008 study by Dajun Dai and Tonny J. Oyana showed a cluster of breast cancer in Midland, Saginaw and Bay counties between 1985 and 2002. Some, including Dow, have called into question the methodology of the study.

The local environmental group The Lone Tree Council recently called on U.S. Rep. Dale Kildee to sign a letter urging the EPA to finalize and release its long-delayed study on dioxin as soon as possible. The EPA had pledged to release the reassessment by the end of 2010 but missed the deadline. The letter, written by U.S. Rep. Edward Markey of Massachusetts, was addressed to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. Kildee added his support.

"This much-needed assessment should not languish at the EPA as long as this dangerous chemical lasts in our food chain," Markey said in a news release. "The EPA should release its report without further delay."

The Saginaw-Tittabawassee Rivers Contamination Community Advisory Group continues to meet monthly to share information and make recommendations to the EPA related to the local Superfund site and its cleanup. Pollution at the site includes dioxin and furans released by Dow, as well as other contamination.

Its next meeting -- from 6 to 9 p.m. tonight at Saginaw Valley State University's Curtiss Hall -- is open to the public.